Bryan McCabe Recounts His Toughest Year with the Maple Leafs: "It Sucked the Life Out of Me"

As any Toronto Maple Leafs fan can tell you, there have been some dark times in the team's history. Bryan McCabe can certainly tell you some stories about it.

While he is a proud former member of the Toronto Maple Leafs, McCabe lived through some of those dark years. Now, he has come clean on his departure from Toronto and how it went down.

To be blunt, it's not good. McCabe, in an appearance on Spittin' Chiclets, Episode 535, said his last season with the Maple Leafs is one he wouldn't want to live through again.

It's clear he remembers the moment well, as he even got the game number right. It was game 7 of the 2007-08 NHL regular season.

The Maple Leafs, who had missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs in the previous two seasons, were in overtime against the Buffalo Sabres when McCabe attempted to sweep a puck from the front of the net. It went straight past his own goaltender Andrew Raycroft, who had been having an excellent game up to that point.

McCabe said he remembered some boos from the crowd the previous season when it was clear the Maple Leafs were not going to make it to the post season, but this was different. The Toronto media, as well as many fans, turned on him.

The Maple Leafs brought in Cliff Fletcher mid-season in an attempt to right the ship. McCabe said he was brought in for an exit meeting at the end of the season, and Fletcher told him he was being traded, whether he wanted to waive his no-trade clause or not.

McCabe was traded to the Florida Panthers before the start of the 2008-09. He was eventually named captain, and played his 1000th NHL game in Florida.

While there's no doubt that that last year was rough for him, his teammates, and fans, hopefully he still has better memories of the team. McCabe was an elite defenseman at one point, with his best season of his career coming with the Maple Leafs in 2005-06 (19 G, 49A, 69P, 73 GP).